Lauren Thomer will enter her third
season as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator for the
Yale University women’s basketball team.

During her first two seasons on Chris Gobrecht's staff,
Thomer has played an instrumental role in establishing Yale as a
contender for the Ivy League championship, helping to guide
the Bulldogs to a pair of fourth-place finishes. Yale
went 13-15 in 2012-13 with an 8-6 mark in Ivy League and
followed that up with a 13-15 record in 2013-14 and 7-7 mark
in Ivy League play.

During her time at Yale, Thomer has coached two players who have
competed on the international level in Megan Vasquez, who was a
part of Puerto Rico's attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, and
Janna Graf, who led Germany's U-20 squad to a second-place finish
in the European Championships.

While at Yale, Thomer has coached a two-time All-Ivy League
First Team selection (Sarah Halejian, 2013-14 & 2012-13) and
two All-Ivy Honorable Mention players (Vasquez, 2012-13; Graf,
2012-13). She brings eight years of coaching experience that are
highlighted by seven winning seasons, four conference
championships, nine All-Conference players, six 1,000-point
scorers, and overall record of 157-79 as a head coach and an
assistant.

Thomer arrived at Yale after three
seasons as the head women’s basketball coach at
Manhattanville College (Division III), where she guided the
Valiants to a 45-32 record over three seasons, which included
consecutive Freedom Conference regular-season championships in
2009-10 and 2010-11. In just three seasons at Manhattanville,
Thomer moved into third-place on the program’s career
victories list. In her first two seasons, she posted the
second-most wins by a coach in their first two seasons in program
history.

During her tenure at Manhattanville, Thomer
coached two 1,000-point scorers in Courtney Turner (2011-12) and
Simona Gordon (2010-11), a D3Hoops.com All-Region honoree and MBWA
All-Metropolitan honoree in Carey Hickey in 2010-11, in addition
to three All-Freedom Conference First Team honorees in Hickey
(2010-11), Simona Gordon (2010-11 & 2009-10) and two
All-Freedom Conference Second Team award winners in Hickey
(2009-10) and Turner (2009-10).

Thomer had a tremendous debut season as a head
coach with the Valiants in 2009-10, earning Freedom Conference
Coach of the Year honors while leading her squad to the Freedom
Conference regular-season championship — the first
regular-season conference title in school history and the first
conference title of any type for Manhattanville since 1981-82. In
all, Manhattanville posted an overall record of 19-8
and a 12-2 Freedom Conference record, marking the fourth-most
wins in a single season in program history and the most by a
Valiant team since 1983-84. The team’s 12 conference wins
also marked the most conference wins ever by a Manhattanville
women’s basketball team.

Following a successful first season,
Thomer led the Valiants to a second straight Freedom Conference
regular-season title in 2010-11, finishing the year with a 17-9
overall record and 10-4 Freedom Conference mark. In 2011-12, the
Valiants finished the season with a 9-15 record, which included a
6-3 mark on their home floor and three wins in their last four
games.

Prior to taking the head coaching position at
Manhattanville, Thomer served as an assistant women’s
basketball coach at the U.S. Military Academy, where she spent
three years working under head coach Dave Magarity. Thomer served
as an assistant coach at Army for two seasons, helping the team to
a 37-24 record over that span. During her time at Army, she helped
develop the winningest senior class in Army’s history, and
she mentored four players who earned a total of seven All-Patriot
League awards. Prior to that stint, Thomer served as head
women’s basketball coach at the U.S. Military Academy
Prep School (USMAPS) for one season, guiding the program to its
first 4-0 record against the other service academy prep
schools.

Thomer earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in
Elementary Education and Journalism in 2004 from Rider University,
where she was the Broncs’ point guard for four seasons. She
was a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic
Team selection and received the team’s Academic Excellence
award as a senior. She also earned her Master of Education degree
in Kinesiology and Sport and Exercise Psychology from the
University of Virginia in 2006.

While earning her master’s degree at
Virginia, Thomer successfully balanced coaching duties on two
different basketball teams. As the head coach for the University of
Virginia’s club basketball team, she led the squad to a 46-6
record over two seasons and the 2005 East Coast Women’s Club
Championship. At the same time, Thomer was the top assistant
coach at the prominent St. Anne’s Belfield School in
Charlottesville, Va., mentoring several future Division I players
as the squad won a conference title and placed fifth in the
Virginia State Tournament.